Thousands took advantage of sites offering free at-home testing kits in Miami-Dade and Broward. NBC 6’s Phil Prazan reports
In time for the end of the year, Miami-Dade County is handing out free take-home rapid COVID test kits at eight libraries in the county Friday.
The kits were distributed beginning at 7:30 a.m. and will continue while supplies last with a limit of two kits per household. The kits will be handed out in a drive-thru manner.
“I was in line since 7 o' clock in the morning," said Cynthia Delgado, who came to the Westchester Regional Library for kits. “There is a line like two miles long.”
Library staff brought bins of the kits out for residents, with some getting tested for family gatherings and others taking extra precautions.
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“Our team is working around the clock to meet the enormous increase in demand and keep residents safe by making tests as accessible as possible, including by distributing hundreds of thousands of take-home rapid test kits and opening new testing sites this week,” said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “We’re grateful to all those across Miami-Dade taking the simple precautions that we know work to keep us safe.”
The eight locations are:
- Kendale Lakes Branch Library
15205 SW 88 Street
Miami, FL 33196 - Naranja Branch Library
14850 SW 280 Street
Miami, FL 33032 - North Dade Regional Library
2455 NW 183 Street
Miami Gardens, FL 33056 - Northeast Dade - Aventura Branch
2930 Aventura Boulevard
Aventura, FL 33180 - Main Library
101 West Flagler Street
Miami, FL 33130 - Miami Beach Regional Library
227 22nd Street
Miami Beach, FL 33139 - Miami Lakes Branch Library
6699 Windmill Gate Road
Miami Lakes, FL 33014 - Westchester Regional Library
9445 Coral Way
Miami, FL 33165
“Every pharmacy everywhere… CVS, Walgreens, nobody has them," said Millagros Coitel, who came to get kits. “The past few days, we have gone to CVS and Walgreens and they are sold out everywhere.”
Local
The distribution of kits comes after 152,000 kits were handed out last weekend and earlier this week while three additional testing sites were opened. Zoo Miami's testing site was expanded to open 24 hours a day.
For more information on test kits and the county's efforts to combat the pandemic, click on this link.
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